IWC Schaffhausen, the official timekeeper for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, and Lewis Hamilton (and driver for the latter outfit) have collaborated to create a brand-new, limited-edition Portugieser timepiece named for the seven-time F1 World Champion. Meet the Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton, the third special edition created with Hamilton since 2014. Here’s what you can expect…
Housed with the Ref. IW394008’s 43.5 mm platinum case, IWC’s 89900 calibre keeps time, displayed on a rich teal-coloured dial, embellished with 12 eye-catching sparkling diamonds, and featuring a flying hacking tourbillon at the 6 o’clock marker. The latter item is arguably this timepiece’s pièce de résistance.
“Lewis knew exactly what he wanted and brought excellent ideas to the table”
The tourbillon comprises a balance wheel, constantly rotating around its axis in a small cage, providing a visual spectacle on the dial. However, it’s not only for eye-catching aesthetics. This system reduces the influence of gravity on the oscillating system, thus increasing the watch’s accuracy. And, thanks to the tourbillon stop, the mechanism can be brought to a complete halt, allowing the wearer to set the time with down-to-the-second accuracy.
“It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with Lewis on this project. His passion for IWC and comprehensive knowledge of mechanical watches were palpable at every stage of the two-year development process,” said Christian Knoop, Chief Design Officer of the Swiss luxury watchmaker.
“Lewis knew exactly what he wanted and brought excellent ideas to the table. The result is a timepiece that combines his unerring sense of aesthetics and love of bold colours with some of the finest watchmaking technology ever developed in Schaffhausen.”
